DR1 Travel News - 26 September 2017

New York Times and Travel Weekly report on DR after Hurricane Maria
Johnny Ventura and Wilfrido Vargas to celebrate Puerto Plata
Puerto Plata Skylift to close in October for maintenance
The 2017 Festival Presidente program

New York Times and Travel Weekly report on DR after Hurricane Maria
The New York Times says: “Tourism is the most important economic driver and the main foreign exchange earner for the region, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization. Some places — including St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Sint Eustatius and Martinique — emerged mostly unscathed. In the Guadeloupe Islands, there was no damage to infrastructure, though two people were killed.”

In turn, Travel Weekly reported: “The main tourist areas in the Dominican Republic did not sustain major damage from Hurricane Maria. The touristic infrastructure of the Dominican Republic, which includes hotels, airports, ports and highways, has not suffered material damage with the passage of Hurricane Maria on the north and northwest coast of the country," said the Association of Hotels & Tourism of the Dominican Republic in a statement. The only damage in Punta Cana, Samana and Puerto Plata was to gardens and trees falling.

"More than 50,000 tourists in hotels, primarily in Punta Cana, spent Sept. 20 and 21 in secure conditions. Those visitors relocated due to security protocols are being returned to their original hotels," the hotel association said.

The international airports that serve Santo Domingo, Santiago, Puerto Plata, Samana and Punta Cana were not affected. The Punta Cana airport, which receives 60% of the tourists who visit the D.R., began to receive flights again on Thursday.

AMResorts had evacuated and/or moved its guests to designated on-property shelters or relocated to resorts out of the storm's projected path.

Iberostar Hotels & Resorts said that all six of their properties in the Punta Cana/Bavaro area are fully operational and have returned to normal activities.

All government services that were suspended on Thursday have been reinstated, according to Roberto Rodriguez Marchena, spokesman for President Danilo Medina.”

Johnny Ventura and Wilfrido Vargas to celebrate Puerto Plata
Megamerengue World Tours will be held 6 October 2017, coinciding with the Discovery Puerto Plata trade show and booking event. Discovery Puerto Plata is taking place 4-6 October 2017, at the Blue JackTar in Playa Dorada, Puerto Plata. The stars of the night of merengue are: Johnny Ventura, Wilfrido Vargas, Kinito Mendez, Fefita La Grande and Kiko el Presidente. The show will take place at the Puerto Plata Amphitheater, adjacent to the San Felipe Fortress, off the Malecón. The event is organized by the Puerto Plata Tourism Cluster with the sponsorship of the Ministry of Tourism.

Puerto Plata Skylift to close in October for maintenance
Rafael Nunez, director of the Puerto Plata Teleferico announced that the skylift up the Isabel de Torres Mountain will be closed for maintenance from 9 October to 28 October. The Skylift is a leading attraction in Puerto Plata. At the top of the mountain serviced by Skylift is the Puerto Plata Botanical Garden. The garden can still be reached by hiking 4km up to the 900 m height of the mountain, but be prepared for an hour and a half moderate difficulty hike.

The 2017 Festival Presidente program
Enjoy the electrifying music and atmosphere of the most anticipated music festival, the Festival Presidente. The event is scheduled to take place from 3-5 November 2017 at the Felix Sánchez Olympic Stadium of the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center.

Sunday, 5 November 2017: Ricky Martin, Juan Luis Guerra, J Balvin, Farruko, Milly Quezada and Johnny Ventura.
Pre-event ticket sales for the three days include a 30% discount when purchasing the three days. When purchasing an individual day, pre-event ticket sales are 20%.

The tickets can be purchased at: Colmapp, Uepa Tickets and sales points of CCN, Jumbo and Supermercados Nacional.